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September 29, 2005

Reality in Iraq

From Omar Fadhil at Iraq the Model, the transition of security responsibility from U.S. forces to Iraqi army and police in the city of Kerbala went largely unreported.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Today, American forces in the city of Kerbala officially handed over security responsibilities to Iraqi army and police units in the city. This makes Kerbala the second Iraqi province that undergoes this transition of power after a similar step was taken in Najaf nearly two months ago. The event which was attended by military and civil officials from both parties also included a parade for the Iraqi units that are going to assume responsibility for peace keeping tasks in Kerbala. Unfortunately no web links are available at the moment as the only source that reported the news was Al-Hurra TV.

For whatever reason, the U.S. press is unwilling to report events like this one. So far, in a less than exhaustive search, I've found only one article and that's from a Chinese news service. Here's the text:

BEIJING, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Army handed over its base in Karbala, south of Baghdad on Wednesday, giving Iraqis full control of the holy Shiite city.

Karbala is the second city where security responsibilities have been transferred to the Iraqis, following a handover of another Shiite stronghold, Najaf, less than a month ago.

The U.S. commander Lieutenant Colonel James Oliver, handed an Iraqi flag to the Iraqi police commander to mark the handover.

"the Ceremony today signifies the turning over of responsibility for security operations in Karbala province."

Occupying U.S. forces have relocated to another base outside the city so as to be available to assist in a major security crisis.

The U.S.-led coalition plans gradually to hand over control of other cities to the Iraqis, thus reducing its security profile.

The holy city of Karbala was the scene of heavy fighting last year between the U.S. Army and the militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The fighting ended following a truce mediated by the city's Shiite clerical hierarchy, which wields considerable power behind the scenes in the current Shiite-dominated national government.

Isn't it unfortunate that this stuff just doesn't fit the reality U.S. media would like to create.